Meet America’s first openly gay professional baseball player

Glenn Burke (1952-95) was the first and only major league baseball player to come out as gay.

Burke played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics from 1976-1979. He batted right, at a .237 average, with 38 RBIs in 225 games over portions of four seasons.

A star outfielder, Burke had strength and speed, but, in 1978, the Dodgers were uncomfortable with him being gay. His manager called him a faggot. Players claimed they were uncomfortable with a gay man in the clubhouse. The team’s vice president offered to pay for his honeymoon after he would marry a woman.

Burke was eventually traded from LA to Oakland. His career ended with a knee injury before the 1980 season. He had a difficult life post-baseball, and he died from AIDS-related causes in 1995. The A’s helped support him financially after his diagnosis.